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I agree with the latter but why the former? I am just curious to understand your reasons.

I really don't want to repeat myself but I have no hesitancy to beat up BMW if I feel in my experience and my heart they deserve it. Likewise I try to be 100% fair. I also give them props when they deserve it. They do far more good than bad.

Travel some

I'd follow the advice of those that say get out-of-town quotes too. I live in Colorado and bought my BMW in Nevada and my Triumph in Florida. You can shop for the best price and get a great ride home from a new place without having to make a long round trip ride. Yes, there will be air fare, but I've gotten the sellers to hold the bike 2-3 weeks to allow me to shop for a decent one-way air ticket.

It has been common for many years now, that dealers advertise their willingness to do fly & ride/drives & I've done these on both ends a number of times including drive/haul/fix routines. Ya gotta go where "it" is located. I've ran into a few sellers that were "troubled" by the thought of an out of town buyer & shirked the whole idea but most are savy (some a bit too savy) & more than willing to facilitate a sale. FWIW, each of my 4 new Tundra PU's has come from a different dealer as the employee's in vehicle sales & the business plans change like the wind. Is there a business where more "employee drift" takes place (not counting obvious drifting like construction) ?

"If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time...I'd relax,I'd limber up... I would take fewer things seriously...take more chances... take more trips...climb more mountains...swim more rivers...eat more ice cream." Jorge Luis Borges at age 85.

It would be interesting to see what kinds of discounts other non-motorcycle industry's give to their customers. What does your mark-up schedule look like? Do you mark up enough in order to provide the ability to mark down and still be profitable? Would anyone here like to 'fess up as to how much their industry discounts? And, whether your industry typically provides for such things as health benefits? If you're a clothing company do your brand new arrivals appear on the shelf at maybe a 30% give or take profit margin? If sold at full list?

Let's here from some of the audience...

I don't think anyone has responded to this question. Are there any takers? Let's see where other industries stack up in markup.

Do people here on the forum think one-price (no haggling) motorcycles would be beneficial?

That would have to be an iron-clad rule from the manufacturer so no dealer could deviate from that way. I haven't heard of any dealers asking for that. It did work for Saturn and does work presently for Scion though.

That would have to be an iron-clad rule from the manufacturer so no dealer could deviate from that way. I haven't heard of any dealers asking for that. It did work for Saturn and does work presently for Scion though.

Let's see, Saturn...how are they doing with that pricing model?

"Saturn's limited, aging lineup quickly stagnated. Sales peaked in 1994 at 286k units, well short of the 500k goal. In fact, 1993 was Saturn's only profitable year."

That would have to be an iron-clad rule from the manufacturer so no dealer could deviate from that way. I haven't heard of any dealers asking for that. It did work for Saturn and does work presently for Scion though.

A good salesperson will move a number of units at MSRP although MSRP is a joke at best and a possible way to piss off people for those unable to negotiate well or feel uncomfortable with negotiating. Depending on the variables and your business model an average of $1k to $1.3k unit gross profit will typically keep the doors open. It's difficult to overcome your average negotiating shopper even with one-price because they don't believe you can't negotiate it. One-price has failed for the most part in the automotive industry although like anything there are a few who make it work.

I'd follow the advice of those that say get out-of-town quotes too. I live in Colorado and bought my BMW in Nevada and my Triumph in Florida. You can shop for the best price and get a great ride home from a new place without having to make a long round trip ride. Yes, there will be air fare, but I've gotten the sellers to hold the bike 2-3 weeks to allow me to shop for a decent one-way air ticket.

Originally Posted by billy walker

I don't think anyone has responded to this question. Are there any takers? Let's see where other industries stack up in markup.

I have spent most of my business life managing (at GM - COO) perishable products with a shelf lives ranging from 12 hours to perhaps a few months. We offered employees benefit packages and in many settings had unions. On a transaction basis, depending on your perspective, the markups or ability and willingness to discount to make a single transaction for the same product were substantial. I would argue that the difference between a truly perishable product and an inventory made up motorcycles or some other durable good renders the comparison of discounts and pricing on transaction level irrelevant.

What they do share at the transaction level is for a good deal both buyer and seller have to see a value equal to and better yet greater than the transaction costs. If either side can not do that politely walk away. It does not make the prospective buyer a jerk or the dealer a bad dealer. It just means given their current constraints to make a deal they can?t do that.

I don't think anyone has responded to this question. Are there any takers? Let's see where other industries stack up in markup.

I don't know how much it relates to today, but many years ago while in HS/College I worked at an auto parts business. (New parts). The best customers (like car dealerships) received a 30-40% discount on everything, so the markup had to be humongous.

I don't know how much it relates to today, but many years ago while in HS/College I worked at an auto parts business. (New parts). The best customers (like car dealerships) received a 30-40% discount on everything, so the markup had to be humongous.

Might that be a different kind of customer, in essence a retailer buying from a supplier? I think the question posed is directed more toward the retailer and ultimate end consumer.

I have spent most of my business life managing (at GM - COO) perishable products with a shelf lives ranging from 12 hours to perhaps a few months. We offered employees benefit packages and in many settings had unions. On a transaction basis, depending on your perspective, the markups or ability and willingness to discount to make a single transaction for the same product were substantial. I would argue that the difference between a truly perishable product and an inventory made up motorcycles or some other durable good renders the comparison of discounts and pricing on transaction level irrelevant.

What they do share at the transaction level is for a good deal both buyer and seller have to see a value equal to and better yet greater than the transaction costs. If either side can not do that politely walk away. It does not make the prospective buyer a jerk or the dealer a bad dealer. It just means given their current constraints to make a deal they can?t do that.

OK, but 2 questions:
1) What percentage was the perishable marked up?
2) Was the perishable a mass market item or specialized small market?